Talk:MOM AUCTION'S SON'S XBOX FOR A PENNY!!!/@comment-98.231.87.35-20200214011749
It was far too sunny for a funeral. The world had no right to be this bright on the day my little brother was being buried. It was a day of picnics, not funerals. I remember sneaking off with him on our bikes on days just like this. We'd ride all the way to the beach and lounge around on the sand till the sun went down. He would squint his eyes at the horizon and talk about his dream of becoming a pilot some day, with that mischievous little grin on his face. Now it's all gone. The smiles, the dreams, the bike rides, all buried in a little hole in the ground never to see the light of day again. Jack wasn't someone you'd call an extrovert. To be honest neither was I. It wasn't surprising , considering the shithole that was our home. Mom died when I was 6 and Jack was 2. Soon our drunk deadbeat dad fully embraced the stereotype and started beating the shit out of us. No extended family , no real friends to speak of, and bone crushing poverty meant that I didn't even know what CPS was till I was already a teenager. I know I should have done something , called the authorities , talked to someone, believe me I fucking know. Instead I did nothing. No. Scratch that. I didn't do nothing. I threw my brother under the bus. As soon as I became big enough to sort of defend myself , that bastard turned his full attention on Jack. And I let it happen. I was just so glad of not going to bed with bruises anymore that i let him take my place. He looked up to me , I was his best friend , his goddman superhero who beat up his bullies and I let him get tortured daily by the biggest bully there was , the only bully that I actually should have stood up to. He was here now. We were the only people at the funeral apart from the two cops and the priest. I could smell the booze all the way from the other side of the grave. Bastard never changed. Showing up drunk to his son's funeral. Fuck. He looked so much smaller than he did in those days. Was I really that scared of someone like this ? I know I could put him right next to his son with just my bare hands. I glared at the pig and he quickly averted his eyes. Sorry son of a bitch. "Andrew, Would you like to say anything in re..." The priest began to say before I cut him off. "No. Please just get it over with." What was there left to say ? And for who ? I doubt Jack could hear whatever rambling apology I could come up with, and I had no interest in opening up in front of that bastard. Four years. Four long years had gone by since I ran away and joined the army, leaving Jack to deal with that piece of shit. I doubt i could say anything that would make up for this betrayal. I still can't wrap my head around this, any of it. He survived four years of high school after I abandoned him , while he lived with the drunken lout. Not only did he survive , he thrived. He actually got into a decent college , with a full ride. He got out of that hellhole , and started working towards a good life. He would never jeopardize that for anything. And to rape someone ? The very idea is unthinkable. He couldn't hurt someone if you put a gun to his head and ordered him to. And to violate someone like this ? Impossible. I know people can change with time , believe me I do. But to crack like this , to turn from a shy kid who rescued injured animals in the neighborhood to a rapist monster ? The change was too drastic to be believable. I know I'm biased. Maybe the years of shit he went through broke him on the inside. Maybe he really did do this. But forgive me for not believing that my brother was a monster. I needed closure. I needed to talk to the victim , to the eyewitnesses , anyone involved in the case, or anyone who knew him. Because it was over so quickly. He had already been given an expulsion letter between the time he called me in tears and told me about the allegation and the time that I managed to get a ticket back home. I was in the airport when the cops called and told me what happened. That my brother had chosen to end his life in the most horrifying manner possible. That I would only get to bury his charred remains. I saw them throw dirt on my brother's coffin. I was done. I couldn't watch it anymore and started to walk away. Let that asshole sit here and watch one of his sons be buried. I couldn't. I heard the cops scrambling after me. "Mr Miller, umm, Andrew?" I felt a meaty paw on my shoulder. "Yes, officer?" I asked, impatiently. I needed to get out this place. "We just wanted to say that we're closing the investigation into your brother's case, ugh, both of them" The shorter cop said. I nodded. I had no idea why the fuck they were even here. Was it standard procedure ? Morbid curiosity ? Aren't they used to shit like this ? Then again it's not everyday that a college kid sets himself on fire these days. But I knew that I wasn't done with this case , I needed my own answers. However, I have built a lifetime of distrust of cops that has lasted all the way through the time I've spent in the army, so I could never rely on them fully. Cops weren't particularly nice to people from where we grew up. Besides I had no evidence , nothing apart for the love I had for my brother, on the basis of which I could ask them to continue. No , I needed to do this all on my own. The fucking sun still shone brightly by the time I came back to my motel room. It really was a beautiful day. Maybe the heavens were happy that he didn't have to suffer any more. I took off my uniform and went into the shower to wash off this shame and guilt staining my soul. I don't even know the name of the girl who alleged that Jack assaulted her. Was she resting easy now ? Satisfied, that the monster who attacked her would never hurt anyone again. Or was she feeling this exact same soul crushing guilt that I was, knowing she destroyed an innocent man's life. I don't know. But i was going to find out even if it was the last thing I ever did. Pizza. Jack loved pizza, I thought as I placed the order on my phone. He could never finish the whole thing , frail as he was, but he sure loved it. I turned around, to look for the tv remote when my eyes fell upon my crumpled uniform , or rather the little brown package on top of it. What. The. Fuck. When did that get here ? Did someone get into the room when I was in the shower ? I quickly called the receptionist who seemed extremely confused when I mentioned the brown package that magically appeared in my room. Could it be a bomb ? Who would want to kill some nameless soldier attending his brother's funeral ? I tore open the package. There two things inside - a USB drive and a little file containing what seemed to be the biodata of a bunch of people I had never heard of in my entire life. I took out my laptop and inserted the drive. The only thing in it was a video file. I hit play. It seemed to be shot on a mobile by someone who was clearly very excited, looking at how bad the camera was shaking. But the audio was good , clear enough to understand what was being said. There were a bunch of figures , shrouded in the darkness , surrounding and jeering at a lone man in the centre of what appeared to be a basement. It was Jack , my brother. And he was horrified. Sweat poured down his wiry little body and he eyes darted around like a cornered animal. "You fucking bastard , you did it, didn't you ?" A voice to his left screamed , making him flinch. " You raped her, you sick fuck". "Noo... I.. I, " I watched him stutter. " Please.... I didn't do anything. This is a big mis... misunderstanding." " SHUT THE FUCK UP" The person holding the camera shouted. It sounded like a woman, just like the voice earlier. " We know what you did and we'll make you pay for it." Jesus. What the fuck was I watching. Another figure, a man in a black mask, stepped forward and swung a baseball bat , catching Jack in the gut. His scream was the most visceral thing I had heard in my entire life. "Confess." Another voice , again a woman. " Confess and this'll be over." He only replied in sobs. Two more people with baseball bats stepped forward and the beating began. I hit pause. I stood up and walked around my room. Good god. I don't understand what's happening. What mess did you get yourself into , little brother ? I'm so sorry for not being there for you. If only I had been around , if only I had acted as a proper brother. I didn't want to watch the whole thing , but knew that I had to. So many questions and no answers. With hands shaking , I hit play again. The beating continued for almost a minute. His face was all red and puffy by the time they stopped. Complete silence descended upon that room. ” YOU THINK YOU’RE GONNA ACCUSE ME OF SHIT I DIDN’T DO?!?! FUCK YOU!!!” He then spat on one of the men, who in return stomped on his head. " I knew it." A voice came from somewhere behind the camera. " They never confess. These cowards aren't able to take even a fraction of the pain they put our sisters through. Never do they think that they'll be made to answer for their crimes." " But answer they will." Her voice now grew louder. " Every single one of these monsters who would dare put their hands on our sisters will suffer." The crowd around Jack broke into a cheer. "Come now. Let us begin" They grew quiet again. I was beginning to seethe with rage. No matter what he'd supposedly done , he didn't deserve to be lynched like this. No one does. Blood began to drip into his eyes and he blinked wildly , desperation clear in his movements. The crowd began to chant something, something incomprehensible. Jack howled in pain. I so badly wanted to help. To make the pain stop but I could only watch helplessly. This is when things took a turn into a nightmarish realm. As the chanting grew louder , Jack's body began to contort. Bones snapped and broke out of his skin as limbs twisted and turned into horrifyingly odd angles. Yet he continued to scream, every shout piercing through my very soul. And then his body spontaneously burst into flames , and still his screaming continued , becoming more and more inhuman with each second before abruptly coming to an end. This is how my brother immolated himself. The silence that followed was the most oppressive I had ever felt in my life. Even when I was over THERE, waiting to get ambushed by Al Qaida, the silence was never as suffocating as what I felt now. The video ended with a close up shot of my brother's burnt corpse. I don't remember how long I sat there staring at the now black screen. I don't know how to begin to process this. My brother didn't kill himself. He was butchered. He died screaming in pain. Gradually I came to my senses. I remembered there was another thing , a file , in the package. I picked it up and looked at it again, closely this time. There were 16 people mentioned in the file, 12 women, 4 men. All college aged kids. Their names , ages, background information, current addresses, even their daily schedules was mentioned. Someone was very thorough. I flipped over to the last page , there , in bright red ink was the message - "Happy hunting ;)"